An article for buyers

An interesting article for jewelry purchasers from the Federal Trade Commission on what to look for in jewelry descriptions when buying.

I came across this and the only thing I can see lacking is my pearl descriptions ... I rarely say whether they're natural or dyed. I think all the ones I've used in my Etsy shop are dyed or bleached apart from the ones in the birdhouse necklace and the peacock pearls in the button and pearl charm bracelet. Those are natural.

I don't agree with the bit about gold metals -- gold is a color, and is used that way in descriptions, so unless there's a karat weight or the terms "gold-filled" or "gold-plated" or, more rarely, "rolled plate" are used, it's best to assume that goldtone is meant -- but of course the FTC isn't interested in my opinion of their terminology, so I'll go fix that. :) It's a good article for those interested in very fine jewelry.

My jewelry is more at the fashion jewelry end of the spectrum, with some exceptions, but I still try to follow those guidelines. This is partly just a matter of trade honesty, and partly because I don't think "fashion jewelry" means low quality. Unfortunately, we have that association with the term. My work is very high quality and made to last years; however, it's also affordable, which aside from karat weight is just about the only difference between my jewelry and that which can be properly called fine jewelry.

Anyway, it's an interesting article, and there are a few others on the site of interest if you're in a browsing mood.